Last Sunday the Phoenix Tools Premier motocross Championship headed down to the ever popular Landrake Moto Parc in Cornwall for round 2 in the series and the opening round of the long awaited open 2-stroke Championship. The track as usual had been prepared to a high standard prior to the meeting and had attracted many wildcard entries, but during the early hours of Sunday morning it had rained and with further showers, some heavy up until mid day the track got a bit tricky to say the least and the decision was made to only run 2 blocks of racing.
In the Expert Championship there was a host of wildcard entries including the Buildbase Honda rider Graeme Irwin (Pictured No 5) who had posted the fastest time in qualification and it was Irwin with the holeshot in the opening race from fellow wildcard Liam Garland on the MBO Sport KTM, but a slight mishap from Garland on the opening lap dropped him back down to 4
th and up in to 2
nd was now Ryan Houghton on the Houghton Racing Husqvarna with three Evo-Tech KTM of Jordan Divall all over him. Irwin was soon to ease away at the front, Divall got the better of Houghton on lap 2, but this was short lived as a mistake from Divall saw Houghton back in to 2
nd and up in to 3
rd was now the DSC Cornwall Kawasaki of Sunny Thompson who was well on the gas. Houghton gave his all to try and stay with Irwin, but it was a big ask in the slippery conditions and was to settle for second with Thompson an excellent 3
rd.
In the second moto it was Thompson who shot around the outside of Irwin on the first corner with the holeshot and looked in fine stead as he was to pull away on the opening lap and by the end of lap 2 he was a full 4 seconds ahead of Irwin. Houghton was now starting to shine in 3
rd and was gradually closing in on Irwin, but Irwin was quick to react and found another gear as he was to ease away from Houghton and on lap 5 was to catch and pass Thompson to take the lead and from there went on to take the chequered flag with Houghton coming through on the last lap after Thompson got his leg stuck in his back wheel to take 2
nd with Thompson 3
rd.
In the over 35’s Championship the battle was to commence again between current Championship leader Wayne Shimell on the Tyremarks Husqvarna and the Cheddar Mx Honda of Ben Harmon who had a battle royal at the opening round. In the first race it was Shimell with the holeshot from Harmon who was right on his back wheel, but Harmon literally was a bit to close going in to the second corner and clipped the back wheel of Shimell and they were both to go down. Shimell was back up in a flash, but Harmon’s day was over as he had damaged his water pump. Jonathan Morrissey was to lead for most of the opening lap until he found Shimell right back with him and it wasn’t long before Shimell took over at the front and went on to take a comfortable win with Morrissey 2
nd and Luke Dewey taking 3
rd.
In race 2 it was all about Shimell from the off who with a clear track in front of him was to storm away and increased his Championship lead with another win from Morrissey with Christian Seloon taking 3
rd.
In the Over 40’s Championship it was T R Engineering Honda of Richard Green who headed the opening race from Paul Deeble and Steve Elford on the Gabriel Insulation’s Honda early on, but by the end of the opening lap Elford had hit the front, but he had the SR75 Molson Suzuki of Martyn Tucker breathing all over him with Tucker taking the lead a lap later after a slight mistake from Elford. Tucker was on a mission at the front and went on to take an easy win from Deeble with Rick Hanson on the A1 Group KTM after a mid race crash coming back up through the field to take a well earned 3
rd.
In the second moto there was no mistaking Hanson who was to lead from the off and showed that he had still got it as he was to go on to take the win from Deeble with Green 3
rd.
In the Over 50’s class there was only one winner and that was David Ford on the Projuice KTM who took both wins to make it 5 wins out of 5 races in the Championship so far.
New to the 2016 series was the R C Motorhomes backed Open 2-stroke Championship which had several top names in the line up. In the opening race it was the Tony Maunders Racing Yamaha of Jamie Skuse who had the best start, but as he went in to the second corner he went down and up in to the lead came James Kensington ahead of Jordan Carter on the Stones Supplies Kawasaki and Will Worden on the little 125 R C Motorhomes KTM, but a man on a mission on the opening lap was Leighton Holmes on board the Moto 64 KTM who literally powered his way to the front by the end of the opening lap and was soon to ease away. Worden was to get the better of Carter and Kensington on lap 2, but by this time Holmes was a full 6 seconds ahead and was to go on to take the win from Worden 2
nd with Carter taking 3
rd.
The second race this time saw Worden with the best start from Henry Ebbutt with Holmes there in 3
rd, but as he did in the opening race Holmes hit the front by the end of the opening lap. Worden was to stay with Holmes and was working hard to close the gap which he did on lap 5 and was to get pass Holmes to take the lead, but within a lap Holmes was to regain the lead and went on to take the win from Worden with Kensington taking 3
rd.
In the Junior Championship first race it was the Oakleaf Building Honda of Dave Anthony who had the early lead from wildcard Daniel Smith and Jamie Buckingham on the Alex Buckingham M/c Husqvarna, but not so good for Championship leader Harry Linton on the Bridgestone KTM as he went down and was nigh on last by the end of the opening lap. Anthony was to lose the lead to Smith on lap 2 and was also passed by Buckingham who seemed to relish in the wet conditions. Smith was in fine form at the front and was to go on untroubled to take the win from Buckingham and Anthony.
The second moto was a different kettle of fish as this time it was Linton at the front from Anthony and Buckingham with Smith there in 4
th. Linton was in a real hurry in this one and soon had a comfortable lead, but there was a real battle going on for 2
nd mid race with Smith eventually passing Anthony, but Anthony was to come back 2 laps from the end to take 2
nd behind Linton with Smith taking 3
rd.
OVERALL RESULTS Gabriel Insulations Expert Open Championship
1
st Graeme Irwin (450f Buildbase Honda) 2
nd Ryan Houghton (350 Houghton Racing Husqvarna) 3
rd Sunny Thompson (450f D S C Cornwall Kawasaki) 4
th Jordan Divall (250f Evo-Tech KTM) 5
th Ty Kellett (450 Apico / 98Vision KTM 6
th Jamie Skuse (450f Tony Maunders Racing Suzuki)
M D Racing Over 35’s Championship
1
st Wayne Shimell (350f Tyremarks Husqvarna) 2
nd Jonathan Morrissey (350f KTM) 3
rd Christian Seloon (????) 4
th James Price (450f Ace Comfort Cooling Kawasaki) 5
th Luke Dewey (????)
M D Racing Over 40’s Championship
1
st Rick Hanson (350f A1 Group KTM) 2
nd Paul Deeble (????) 3
rd Martyn Tucker (450f SR75 Molson Suzuki) 4
th Richard Green (450f T R Green Engineering Honda) 5
th Richard Tapscott (350f Tony Maunders Racing KTM) 6
th Stuart Rawlings (450f Honda)
M D Racing Over 50’s Championship
1
st David Ford (450f Projuice KTM) 2
nd Alan Packer (450f Simpsons Honda) 3
rd Adrian Toy (250 KTM) 4
th Dave Watson (450f Honda)
R C Motorhomes Open 2-Stroke Championship
1
st Leighton Holmes (250 Moto 64 KTM) 2
nd Will Worden (125 RC Motorhomes/Gibbs Performance / Armaid KTM) 3
rd James Kensington (250 Tony Maunders / M D Racing KTM) 4
th Henry Ebbutt (250 KTM) 5
th Scott Northover (250 Husqvarna) 6
th Lewis Barfoot (250 Honda)
Tony Maunders Junior Championship
1
st Daniel Smith (????) 2
nd Dave Anthony (450f Oakleaf Building Honda) 3
rd Jamie Buckingham (250f Alex Buckingham M/c Husqvarna) 4
th Harry Linton (250f Bridgestone KTM) 5
th Bradley Flagg (250f Cheddar Mx Honda) 6
th Jay Lewis (450f Tony Maunders Racing Honda)
Junior B
1
st Lee Randall-Smith (450f LRS Building Kawasaki) 2
nd Darren Toy (250 KTM) 3
rd Giles Richards (350f Tony Maunders Racing KTM) 4
th Marcus Feltham (450f Yamaha) 5
th George Pool (????) 6
th Bradley Barfoot (450f Yamaha)
Junior C
1
st Michael Rich (350f RPS Body Repairs KTM) 2
nd Joe Allaway (250f APJ UK Honda) 3
rd Scott Hooper (450f Framptons Honda) 4
th Elliott Woodward (250 Kawasaki) 5
th Graham Pugsley (250f Tanks Direct Honda) 6
th Jack Jones (250f APJ UK Honda)
Report and Photos by Dave Rich